I never knew his majesty had fur that's an odd change lol. I am glad to see minthara getting attention even though I'm not the biggest fan of her character
He had fur for one patch or such - him not having fur before that patch was a bug. The community was not happy about them fixing said bug, so they changed it back. Its one of the reasons why I still have hope about Larian listening to us.
As for Alfira: I honestly don't know how you'd properly fit her into the group at this point, especially without removing her storyline. I like her a lot, but I'd rather watch her be happy with Lakrissa than travel around with the companions.
I'm also kinds glad they didn't make Alfira a companion. Not every npc needs to be a companion but it would be nice to see her kind of expanded in act 1
